The Minister for Rural Affairs Elin Jones has said that work will continue with the dog breeding and welfare sectors to ensure that dog breeding legislation is right for Wales.
Following considerable interest amongst many groups and the analysis of over 500 consultation responses on the proposals to change dog breeding legislation in Wales, the Minister announced this week (8 March 2011) that further work is required to bring forward amended legislation.
Elin Jones said:
“The Welsh Assembly Government is committed to improving the welfare standards of animals and I know there is cross-party support for this. However, my priority is to ensure that we get the legislation right.
“Whilst we received a wide range of responses there were some clear overall issues, including a general consensus that welfare of dog breeding has a high priority and that irresponsible breeding in so called “puppy farms” should be brought to an end.
“There are also concerns over whether the legislation as currently drafted is sufficiently targeted to control dog breeding businesses, and that some of the criteria for being licensed were too narrow.
“There is strong support for microchipping to become compulsory, but there are issues that need to be clarified such as the impact of compulsory microchipping in Wales on legitimate trade to England.
“Given the time needed to ensure the legislation is right, it will not be possible to bring forward the final draft legislation within this government term. We will therefore continue to work in developing the final draft Regulations in preparation for early action by a new government should they wish.
“I would like to thank all those that gave serious thought to the proposed legislation and made constructive comments and inputted to the consultation.”
